Method and apparatus for disc drive data security using a defect list

ABSTRACT

Method and apparatus for storing and retrieving copy-protected data within storage devices such as, for example, disc drives. Data that is to be copy protected is written on the storage device. A first data list, such as a manufacturer&#39;s storage device defect list, is copied and used to make a second data list. Then, the first data list is modified such that the area where the copy protected data is stored is identified as defective. Unless a request to read the copy protected data is received, the first data list is used and the copy protected data area is considered defective. However, if a request to read the copy protected data is received, the second data list is used and the copy protected data is read from its storage location.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION

This invention is based on U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/185,257 filed Feb. 28, 2000, entitled Use Defect Lists To HideCopy-Protected Data filed in the name of Gayle L. Noble. The priority ofthis provisional application is hereby claimed. This is a divisional ofco-pending application Ser. No. 10/871,683 filed on Jun. 16, 2004, whichis a continuation of Ser. No. 09/795,877 filed on Feb. 28, 2001, whichalso claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No.60/185,257 filed Feb. 28, 2000.

U.S. Patent application entitled “Method and Apparatus for Disc DriveData Security Using A Servo Wedge”, Ser. No. 09/796,197 filed on Feb.28, 2001 filed in the name of Gayle L. Noble is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

U.S. patent application entitled “Method and Apparatus for Disc DriveData Security Using Physical Location”, Ser. No. 09/795,623 filed onFeb. 28, 2001 filed in the name of Gayle L. Noble is hereby incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to storing and retrievingcopy-protected data on a disc drive.

2. Background of the Related Art

With the advent of the recording and playing of digital data, the needto store copy-protected data on disc drives becomes increasingly anecessity. Digital data is rapidly becoming the standard format by whichindustries, such as the entertainment industry, record and playmultimedia. Paid for programming available to the public such as movies,sound tracks, music recordings, and the like, are increasing in demand.With digital recording, the public has more options than ever to listento and/or record digital audio and video with unparalleled recording andplayback quality.

One exemplary storage system being used more frequently to store digitalmulti-media is a computer controlled disc-based storage drive, e.g., adisc drive. Disc drives are capable of storing large amounts of digitaldata in a relatively small area. Disc drives store information on one ormore recording media. The recording media conventionally take the formof a circular storage disc, e.g., media, having a plurality of recordingtracks. Conventional disc drives include a plurality of the storagediscs, vertically aligned, and each with at least on magnetic head forreading or writing information to the media. Typically, the magnetichead is attached to a positioner arm assembly that uses servomotors,such as stepper motors, to align the magnetic head above the disc. Thelocation of the magnetic head is typically determined by a disccontroller that is given the position of a data area on the disc to reador write data. The precise location of the head is typicallyaccomplished by incorporating a closed-loop electro-mechanical servosystem with a dedicated servo region, or regions, used to providecontinuous feedback to the system to maintain accurate positioning ofthe data heads.

Unfortunately, due to the high quality of the data and the fact that thedata stored on digital storage systems, such as disc drives, is oftenunprotected and easily copied, the copying and selling of unauthorizedcopies of digitally recorded material is on the rise. Consider the casewhere a paid for program such as an audio file is downloaded via anetwork of computers such as the Internet, to a disc drive for play by aclient who has paid for the file. Often, the file may be copied toanother storage media or to another disc drive for use by another userunless copy protection is used. This often referred to as “pirating” acopy of the file. Additionally, the file may be repackaged and sold byothers for profit without permission, often called “software piracy”. Inaddition, the files may be shared by other users by playing from theowner's computer allowing the end user the benefit of the file withoutpurchasing the file from the owner.

Conventional digital copy-protection schemes involve techniques such asregistration, encryption, digital watermarking, 5C content, and thelike. For example, software copy protection schemes often involve theuse of copy-protection techniques that require issuing registrationnumbers with each package. When you install the software, you must enterthe registration number. This technique does not prevent allunauthorized copying, but it limits it. In addition, users may not beable to obtain updates to a software product unless they own theoriginal diskettes and documentation. Unfortunately, the user mayforget, or may have difficulty in registering the software and maybecome frustrated if the software stops working and/or working properly.

For conventional multimedia, data stored on optical surfaces such asfound on a digital versatile disc (DVD) is often copy protected. Forexample, the digital-video format includes a content scrambling system(CSS) to prevent users from copying discs. The DVD system may also usekey based techniques such as the 5C technique that has software keysthat expire after use. Unfortunately, this means that today's DVDplayers may not be able to play DVD-video discs without a softwareand/or hardware upgrade to decode the encrypted and/or keyed data eventhough the use may be authorized.

Another issue with conventional copy protection is that of makingbackups of the data. For example, a user may have a computer that theyneed to backup the data, conventional encryption techniques oftenrequire that a hardware and/or specific software key(s) be used beforethe data can be successfully copied. Unfortunately, the user may nothave the correct hardware or software key to allow the transfer of thedata and may become frustrated.

Furthermore, most conventional copy protection techniques such as CSSare defeated over time causing the digital-video and software industryto constantly upgrade the hardware, and/or software techniques to combatthe unauthorized copying. The constant upgrading and development ofprotection techniques that are eventually exposed and defeated causes anincrease in the cost of the product as well as possible incompatibilityissues with existing systems.

Thus, what is needed is a method that allows the recording and playingof copy protected material to the user without the ability to copy thedata or use the data in an unauthorized manner without affecting thecompatibility of the storage device to operate with non-copy protecteddata.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally provides a method and apparatus forstoring and retrieving copy protected data within storage devices suchas a disc drive. One aspect of the present invention provides a methodfor writing on a disc drive data to be copy protected including thesteps of providing data to be copy protected, then copying a first datalist to a second data list, writing the data to be copy protected to adisc drive media, and then modifying the status of the copy protecteddata within the first data list, such as a manufacture's defect list, asdefective.

Another aspect of the invention provides a method for reading copyprotected data from a disc drive includes determining if a request toread copy protected data has been issued, then if the request to readcopy protected data has not been issued then reading at least one datalocation status from a first data list wherein the location statusindicates the location of the data as defective, but if the request toread copy protected data has been issued then reading the data locationfrom a second data list and reading the data.

One aspect of the present invention provides a disc drive systemincludes a signal-bearing media means for storing data, a code memorymeans coupled to a read/write controller means for controlling thereading and writing of data to the signal-bearing media, a means forreading and writing the data to the signal-bearing media and a processormeans coupled to the code memory and the read/write controller. Theprocessor includes a program which, when executed on the processor for awrite sequence, is configured to perform the steps including copying afirst data list to a second data list, writing the data to be copyprotected to the signal-bearing media, and modifying the status of thecopy protected data within the first data list as defective. When theprogram is executed on the processor, for a read sequence, is configuredto perform the step of determining if a request to read copy-protecteddata has been issued. If the request to read copy protected data has notbeen issued then reading at least one data location status from thefirst data table wherein the location status indicates the location ofthe data as defective, if the request to read copy protected data hasbeen issued then reading the data location from the second data tableand reading the data.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the above recited features, advantages andobjects of the present invention are attained and can be understood indetail, a more particular description of the invention, brieflysummarized above, may be had by reference to the embodiments thereofwhich are illustrated in the appended drawings. It is to be noted,however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodimentsof this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of itsscope, for the invention may admit to other equally effectiveembodiments.

Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to aperson of skill in this field who studies the following description ofan embodiment given below in association with the following drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a typical disc-based apparatus for reading andwriting data on a media wherein the present invention may be used toadvantage.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of typical media for storing data wherein thepresent invention may be used to advantage.

FIG. 3 illustrates a memory core for storing programming data in whichthe present invention may be used to advantage.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for a start-up sequence for thedisc-based apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method for a write sequence for thedisc-based apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method for a read sequence for thedisc-based apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Embodiments of the invention have particular advantages in electronicdata storage systems. One exemplary electronic data storage systemcommonly used in the computer industry, well suited for supporting thedigital data copy protection method described herein, is known as a discdrive. As will be described below, aspects of the preferred embodimentpertain to specific method steps implementable on computer disc-drivesystems.

In one embodiment, the invention may be implemented as part of acomputer program-product for use with computer disc-drive systems. Theprograms defining the functions of a preferred embodiment can beprovided to the disc drive via a variety of signal-bearing media, whichinclude but are not limited to, (i) information permanently stored onnon-writable storage media (e.g. read-only memory devices within acomputer such as read only CD-ROM disks readable by a CD-ROM or DVDdrive; (ii) alterable information stored on a writable storage media(e.g. floppy disks within diskette drive or hard-disc drive); or (iii)information conveyed to a computer by communications medium, such asthrough a computer or telephone network, including wirelesscommunication. Such signal-bearing media, when carryingcomputer-readable instructions that direct the functions of the presentinvention, represent alternative embodiments of the present invention.It may also be noted that portions of the product program may bedeveloped and implemented independently, but when combined together areembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a typical disc-based apparatus for reading andwriting data on a media wherein the present invention may be used toadvantage. FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of the invention includingdisc drive electronics 30 which in general includes an interface 39adapted to receive external signals and data, and a Head Disc AssemblyInterface (HDAI) 38 for connecting the disc drive electronics 30 to thehead disc assembly (HD) 82. The HD 82 includes read/write transducerhead(s) 40 coupled via wires 46 to the HDIA 38, a spindle motor 41, anactuator arm 49, a servo actuator 47, and other disc drive componentsthat are well known in the art. The read/write transducer head(s) 40 aremounted on the actuator arm 49. As the servo actuator 47 moves theactuator arm 49, the read/write transducer head(s) 40 fly above a media50 to read and write data to the media 50. The media 50 typicallyincludes a disc or discs coated with a recording material such asferrous iron, magneto-optical media, and other materials adapted to holda magnetic charge. Media 50 may also include optical media such as a DVDadapted to optically store digital information. The set top box 80,coupled to interface 39, is used to communicate with video and audiosources such as digital cable TV systems, digital satellite, and thelike and is adapted to handshake with the disc drive electronics 30 soas to control the inflow/outflow and protection of copy protected data.The step top box 80 is of any conventional design adapted to receivedigital information and transmit the information to the interface, andcommunicate with the disc drive electronics 30 through interface 39 tointerface/disc/servo controller 31. The set top box may communicate withthe interface through any conventional communication mode such as SCSI,ATA, serial, IEEE 488, and any other form of electronic data transfer.Illustrative multimedia formats include audio files (e.g., AU, WAV,AIFF, MIDI, MP3), video files (e.g., MPEG, AVI), image files (GIF, JPEG,XBM, TIFF, PICT, Raster file) and other formats known in the art.

The interface/disc/servo controller 31 provides a translation andcommand interface between the set top box 80 and disc drive electronics30 through the interface 39. The interface/disc/servo controller 31 isdirectly connected to the buffer memory 32 through a memory busconnection 66. The buffer memory 32 may store program code and/or datafor use with the operation of the drive. Interface/disc/servo controller31 is also connected via a read/write bus 44 to CPU 34 used forprocessing the disc drive commands, the code memory 35 is adapted tostore operational data and commands, and the servo power electronics 36are adapted to operate the servomotor 41 and actuator arm 49. Servopower electronics 36 are typically connected to the HD 82 via servocontrol connection 84 to a plurality of FET switches 37 that control thespin motor 41. The HDAI 38 provides an electrical connection between theprinted circuit board assembly (PCBA) 84 including the internal discdrive electronics 30, and the HD 82 including the disc drive internalmechanical and electromechanical components. Read/write channelelectronics 33 used to transmit data to and from the media 50 via databus 42 include read write logic 33 a, write logic 33 b, and servo logic33 c, and includes a connection to the interface/disc/servo controller31 through the data bus 42. A serial bus 43 is used to sendconfiguration commands from the CPU 34 to the read/write channelelectronics 33.

FIG. 1 is merely one hardware configuration for a disc-drive datastorage system. A preferred embodiment of the present invention canapply to any comparable hardware configuration, regardless of whetherthe disc-drive data storage apparatus is a complicated, multi-mediastorage apparatus including a plurality of media types, or a singledisc-drive data storage apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the media 50 for storing data wherein thepresent invention may be used to advantage. FIG. 2 illustrates exemplarydata storage tracks 208 on the media 50 including data wedges 210separated by a plurality of servo wedges 220 in accordance to thepresent invention. As necessary, FIG. 1 is referenced in the followingdiscussion of FIG. 2. For clarity, only portions of the tracks 208 areshown. Illustratively, a plurality of concentric tracks 208 are shownrepresenting a plurality of data wedges 210 and servo wedges 220extending across the media for data storage and retrieval by theread/write head(s) 40. As the read/write head(s) 40 fly over the media50, the servo actuator 47 moves the actuator arm 49 to a particulartrack 208 on the media 50 in response from commands of theinterface/disc/servo controller 31. The data wedges 210 are generallyused for storing external data from an external user such as multimediafiles and are generally accessible by the user through the interface 39.Servo wedges 220 are portions of each track 208 that may includeread/write head(s) alignment indicia, physical address information, andcheck pointing data used for defect management. Servo wedge data isgenerally for the drive use and is generally inaccessible to the outsideuser.

FIG. 3 illustrates the code memory 35 for storing programming data inwhich the present invention may be used to advantage. The code memory 35is preferably random access memory sufficiently large to hold thenecessary programming and data structures of the invention. The codememory 35 may be used to store operating code, and other run-time codethat enables the drive. The contents of the code memory 35 may also bestored to a plurality of reserved areas of the media 50 or into otherareas of the drive electronics 30 such as buffer memory 32 forredundancy.

The code memory 35 further includes a logical to physical translationprogram 345 adapted to transform logical block addresses (LBA) tophysical media coordinates. Data communicated to and from a data storagesystem is normally managed by the LBA rather than by physical address.Data sectors are numbered blocks of data to be stored and retrieved.Data sectors are the fundamental units of data handled by the datastorage system and are usually of fixed length, e.g., 512 bytes. In oneaspect of the invention, one data sector equals the length of one datawedge 210. However, if the data wedges 210 are large, as is often thecase with magnetic storage systems, several logical addressed datasectors may be stored in a single physical data wedge 210. The physicaltranslation program 345 coordinates the translation of the logicaladdress of a particular block of data to the physical address of thelocation at which the data is stored.

The coordination between logical addressing and physical addressing iscomplicated by defects in the recording material in which the datacannot be reliable stored and retrieved. Defects should therefore beskipped, that is, no attempt should be made to either write to or readfrom them. The details of one exemplar defect management method andapparatus is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/241,795,entitled “Apparatus and Method for Efficient Defect Management In aMagneto-Optical data Storage System,” Belser et al., filed on Feb. 1,1999, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

During manufacture, the recording media 50 is usually written to andthen read back from to determine which physical addresses are defective.A manufacture's defect list 305, i.e., drive defect list, maps therelationship between logical and physical addresses between thenon-defective physical addresses and logical addresses, is stored on themedia 50 by the manufacture, and loaded into the code memory 35 duringoperation. Additionally, as the media 50 is used, other defects mayoccur through, for example, the read/write head(s) 40 inadvertentlytouching the surface of the media 50 during a read and/or writeoperation and physically damaging a data sector on the media 50. Mediadefects subsequent to the manufacturer's defect list 305 are placed inthe manufacturer's defect grown list 315. Thus, the manufacturer'sdefect grown list literally “grows” as the media 50 is used. In oneaspect of the invention, the code memory 35 further includes a copy ofthe manufacture's defect list 310, and an identical copy of themanufacture's grown list 320 for use with the copy protection program325.

To use the manufacture's defect list 305, a defect list pointer 322 iscalled during the reading of the manufacturer's defect list 305.Additionally, a grown defect list pointer 324 is also used to point theoperating code to the manufacturing defect grown list 315. The drivethen has the information necessary to skip bad data areas and recorddata to reliable data sectors. In one aspect, during operation, both theoriginal and copy of the defect grown lists are kept identically thesame. When the disc drive is powered down, the manufactures defect grownlist 315 and an identical copy of the manufactures defect grown list 320are stored to reserved area(s) on the media 50, and/or to non-volatilememory, for the next power up sequence.

The code memory 35 further includes the copy protection program 325 usedto allow the reading and writing of copy-protected data. The copyprotection program 325 generally includes format code 330 to allow thedisc drive electronics 30 to format the drive data sectors, reassigncode 335 to allow the data to be reassigned to other data sectors, andauto reallocation code 340 used to automatically reallocate data on themedia 50 when the drive is reallocating data during a reallocationprocess for example when defects are found or when the media 50 is beingoptimized for space. While code memory 35 is shown as a single entity,it should be understood that code memory 35 may in fact may be volatileor non-volatile, comprise a plurality of modules, and that the codememory 35 may exist at multiple levels, from high speed registers andcaches to lower speed but larger DRAM chips.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method 400 for a start-up sequence for thedisc-based apparatus of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention.As necessary, FIGS. 1-3 are referenced in the following discussion ofFIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is entered at step 405 when for example the set top box 80instructs the disc drive electronics 30 to read or write data to media50. At step 410, the interface/disc/servo controller 31 initializes thedisc drive electronics 30, CPU 32, the code memory 35, the servo power36, FETs 37, the read/write channels 33, and the buffer memory 32 andbegins the process of “spinning”, i.e., rotating, the media 50 up toprepare the media 50 for a read/write operation. At step 415, method 400determines whether the servomotor 41 is functioning properly. If theservomotor 41 is working improperly, the method 400 proceeds to step 420and spins the servomotor 41 down. If the servomotor 41 is functioningproperly, the method 400 proceeds to step 425. At step 425, the actuatorarm 46 positions the read/write transducer head(s) 40 to read thephysical layout data and the manufacturing defect list 305 storing themwithin a reserved area such as a reserved servo wedge 220 and/or memory.At step 430, the manufacturer's grown defect list 315 is read from areserved area on the media 50 and/or non-volatile memory and loaded intothe code memory 35 into a separate location. At step 435, the copy ofthe manufacturer's defect list 310 and the copy of manufacturer's defectgrown list 320 are loaded into code memory 35. However, if the copyprotection program 325 had never been called, as may be the case with afirst turn on of the drive “original” spin up, there would not be a copyof a manufacture's defect list 310 to load. If this were the case, themethod 400 would copy the manufacture's defect list 305 into the copy ofthe manufacture's defect list 310 data area of code memory 35.

At step 440, method 400 determines if the media 50 is properly formattedto receive data from the read/write transducer head(s) 40. If the media50 is not properly formatted, then method 400 proceeds to step 445 toset the read/write commands as invalid and then proceeds to step 450. Ifthe media 50 is properly formatted, then method 400 proceeds to step450. At step 450, the method 400 determines whether the copy protectionprogram 325 has been previously initialized, e.g., the copy protectionprogram 325 was called from the set top box 80 or used previously. Ifthe copy protection program 325 has not been previously initialized,i.e., used or called, then method 400 proceeds to step 475 and copiesthe manufactures grown list 315 to a reserved area on the media and/ormemory, i.e., code memory 35 and/or buffer memory 32, and maintains thecopy identically to the manufacturer's defect grown list 315 duringdrive operation for the next power up sequence. In one aspect, the lackof a copy of the manufacture's defect list 310 found at step 435 mayindicate that the copy protection program 325 has not been previouslyinitialized. Subsequently, the method 400 proceeds to step 480. If thecopy protection program 325 has been previously initialized, i.e.,called, then method 400 proceeds to step 475. At step 475, the originalmanufacturing defect grown list 315 is compared to the copy of themanufacture's defect grown list 320. Generally, the manufacturer'sdefect list 305 is not altered under normal operating conditions,whereas the manufacture's defect grown list 320 may change during theoperation of the drive as new defects are found. However, themanufacture's defect grown list 320 may be altered using a commandthrough interface 39. For example, an interface command throughinterface 39 could tell the drive to “throw away” the manufacture'sdefect grown list 320. Therefore, if the original manufacturing defectgrown list 315 is different from the copy of the manufacturing defectgrown list 320, indicating a possibility of drive tampering, an alarmflag is set. If the manufacture's defect grown list 320 was alterednormally while in use, the manufacture's defect grown list 315 and thecopy of the manufacture's defect grown list 320 are saved to a reservedarea on the media 50 when the disc drive is powered down and would beidentical. Thus, when then the manufacture's defect grown list 315 andcopy of the manufacture's defect grown list 320 are loaded into codememory 35 from the media and or non-volatile memory at step 430 and 435,respectively, they should register as identical upon the next power onsequence of method 400. In one aspect, the alarm is transmitted to theset top box 80 that disables the transmission of the copy-protecteddata. If the original manufacturing defect grown list 315 is identicalto the copy of the manufacturing defect grown list 320 then method 400proceeds to step 480. At step 480, method 400 receives a read or a writecommand. If the read/write commands at step 480 where set to invalidfrom step 445, then the drive would be unable to be used for storing orretrieving data from the data wedges 210. If the read/write commands areset to valid, the method 400 waits for a read or write command.

FIG. 5 a flow diagram of a method 500 for a method of writing data onthe media 50 of FIG. 1 and 2 in accordance with the present invention.As necessary, FIGS. 1-4 are referenced in the following discussion ofFIG. 5.

FIG. 5 is entered at step 505 when a read or write command is receivedat step 480. At step 510, the read/write head(s) 40 are positioned byactuator arm 49 in response to interface/disc/servo controller 31 anddata is written onto the media 50. At step 510, the method 500 uses thereassign code 335 and auto reallocation code 340 to determine whichsectors are valid and available to be written to, converts the logicaladdresses to physical address using the logical to physical addresstranslation program 345 and writes the data to the appropriate sectorson the media 50. At step 515, method 500 determines whether a copyprotection command via interface 39 called the copy protection program325. In one aspect, the set top box 80 issues the copy protectioncommand to the interface/disc/servo controller 31. If the command forcopy protection was not received and/or not understood, the method 500proceeds to step 525. If the command for copy protection was received,the method 500 proceeds to step 520. At step 520, the method 500modifies the manufacturer's defect list 305 by mapping the data sectorswritten to, from step 510, within the data wedges 210 as defective. Inone embodiment, only segments of the data sectors are written asdefective to increase the processing time and minimize the defect listlength. Subsequently, method 500 proceeds to step 525. At step 525,method 500 determines if the write sequence has ended. If the sequencehas ended, method 500 exits. If the write sequence has ended, thenmethod 500 returns to step 510 and continues the write sequence. Thus,if the data copy protection was not called, the data may be normallywritten, and if the data protection was called, the data sectors writtento are flagged as defective on the manufacturer's defect list 305.However, if defects are found during the written process with or withoutthe copy protection program 325 called, both the manufacturer's defectgrown list 315 and copy of manufacturer's defect grown list 320 areupdated to reflect the defects. Thus, the grown lists 315 and 320 arekept identical until the next power up sequence (i.e., method 400) whenthey are compared.

FIG. 6 a flow diagram of a method 600 for a method of reading data fromthe media 50 of FIG. 1 in accordance with the present invention. Asnecessary, FIGS. 1-5 are referenced in the following discussion of FIG.6.

FIG. 6 is entered at step 605 when a read command is received at step480. At step 610, method 600 determines if the copy protection program325 was called. If the copy protection program 325 was not called thenmethod 600 proceeds to step 615 and uses the manufacturer's defect list305 by setting the defect list pointer 322 to point to the manufacture'sdefect list 305 that has been modified from step 520. Method 600proceeds to step 625 described below to read the data. If the copyprotection program 325 was called, then the method 600 proceeds to step620. At step 620, method 600 sets the defect list pointer 322 to pointto the copy of the manufacture's defect list 310 to read the data. Atstep 625, method 600 converts the logical addresses to physical addressusing the logical to physical address translation program 345 and thenreads the data. If the data being read was written as copy protectedfrom method 500 and the copy protection program 325 was called, then thedata reads normally as the copy of the manufacturer's defect list 310indicates the copy protected data sectors as normal data. From step 620,if the data being read was written as copy protected from method 500,and the copy protection program 325 was not called, then the data readsdefective as the manufacture's defect list 305 indicates that the datasector locations of the copy protected material as defective. At step630, method 600 determines if the read sequence has ended. If the readsequence has ended, the method 600 proceeds to step 635 described below.If the read sequence has not ended, the method 600 proceeds to step 625and continues to read the data. At step 635 the defect list pointer 322is set to point to the manufacture's defect list 305 and exits at step340. Thus, an unauthorized user would not be able to read the data fromthe disc drive as the copy protected data is flagged as defective.

In summary, the present invention generally provides a method andapparatus for storing and retrieving copy protected data within storagedevices such as a disc drive. One embodiment of the present inventionprovides a method 500 for writing on a disc drive data to be copyprotected including the steps of providing data to be copy protected,then copying a first data list to a second data list, e.g., amanufacturer's defect list 305, writing the data to be copy protected toa disc drive media 50, and then modifying the status of the copyprotected data within the first data list as defective. In one aspect,the first and second lists include a defect list, such as amanufacture's defect list 305. In another aspect, the first listcomprises a manufacture's defect list and the second list includes acopy of the manufacture's defect list where the manufacture's defectlist may include the manufacture's defect list 305. In one aspect,before the step 510 of providing data to be written, a step is includedthat provides a copy protection command signal. The step of providing acopy protection command signal may be a user selectable step. In anotheraspect, modifying the status of the copy protected data within the firstdata list as defective includes the step 520 of marking at least one ofthe written sector locations as defective. In one aspect, the means forreading and writing the data to the signal-bearing media 50 includes atleast one read/write head 40 adapted to read and write data to the media50.

Another embodiment of the invention provides a method 600 for readingcopy protected data from a disc drive includes determining if a request610 to read copy protected data has been issued, then if the request toread copy protected data has not been issued then reading 625 at leastone data location status from a first data list, e.g., manufacturer'sdefect list 305 wherein the location status indicates the location ofthe data as defective, but if the request to read copy protected datahas been issued then reading the data location from a second data list,e.g., a copy of the manufacturer's defect list 310 and reading the data625. In one aspect, the location status indicates the location of thedata as a bad sector. In another aspect, the data location statusindicates missing data at the location of the data. In one aspect, thefirst and second list includes a defect list wherein the first listincludes a drives defect list, i.e., manufacturer's defect list 305. Thesecond list may include a copy of a drive defect list e.g., a copy ofthe manufacturer's defect list 310.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a disc drive systemincludes a signal-bearing media 50 means for storing data, a code memory35 means coupled to a read/write controller 31 means for controlling thereading and writing of data to the signal-bearing media 50, a means forreading and writing the data to the signal-bearing media and a processor34 means coupled to the code memory 35 and the read/write controller 31.The processor 34 includes a program 500 which, when executed on theprocessor 34 for a write sequence, is configured to perform the stepsincluding copying 435 a first data list to a second data list, writingthe data 510 to be copy protected to the signal-bearing media 50, andmodifying 520 the status of the copy protected data within the firstdata list, e.g., manufacturer's defect list, 305 as defective. When theprogram is executed on the processor, for a read sequence, is configuredto perform the step 610 of determining if a request to readcopy-protected data has been issued. If the request to read copyprotected data has not been issued then reading 625 at least one datalocation status from the first data table wherein the location statusindicates the location of the data as defective, if the request to readcopy protected data has been issued then reading 625 the data locationfrom the second data table, e.g., copy of manufacturer's defect list310, and reading the data. In one aspect, the signal-bearing media 50 isselected from the group including a semiconductor substrate, an opticalsubstrate, a magneto-optical substrate, and combinations thereof. Inanother aspect, the step 520 of modifying the status of the copyprotected data within the first data list as defective includes the step520 of marking at least one data sector location as defective. In oneaspect, the code memory 35 means is selected from the group of volatilememory, non-volatile memory, media, and combinations thereof.Additionally, the means for reading and writing the data to thesignal-bearing media 50 may include at least one read/write head 40adapted to read and write data to the media 50. In one aspect, the firstand second list includes a defect list, e.g., manufacturer's defect list305. Additionally, the first list may include a drive defect list, e.g.,manufacturer's defect list 305. In one aspect, the second list mayinclude a copy of a drive defect list, e.g., a copy of manufacturer'sdefect list 310.

Although various embodiments which incorporate the teachings of thepresent invention have been shown and described in detail herein, thoseskilled in the art can readily devise many other varied embodimentswithin the scope of the present invention. For example, it iscontemplated that the copy protection program 325 may be integral to theoverall drive code, or may be an impendent module within code memory 35.Alternatively, the copy protection program 325 may be partially storedexternal to the drive and downloaded through the interface 39.

While foregoing is directed to the preferred embodiment of the presentinvention, other and further embodiments of the invention may be devisedwithout departing from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

1. A method for reading copy protected data from a disc drive,comprising: determining if a request to read copy protected data or arequest to read unprotected data has issued; if a request to readunprotected data has issued then reading at least one data locationstatus from a first data list wherein the location status indicates thelocation of copy protected data as defective; and if a request to readcopy protected data has issued then reading the data location from asecond data list and reading the copy protected data.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the location status indicates the location of the copyprotected data as a bad sector.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst and second list comprise a defect list.
 4. The method of claim 3,wherein the first list comprises a manufacture's defect list.
 5. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the second list comprises a copy of amanufacture's defect list.